GREENWICH — When a crowd of close to 50 gathered outside a coastal home in Riverside to hear from Greenwich’s delegation to Hartford, State Rep. Livvy Floren (R-149th) couldn’t help but speculate about what brought them there.

“We like to think in the delegation that you are here to hear about policy and politics,” Floren said. “But in my heart of hearts, I know you are here for the view of the water and for the deviled eggs. There’s no question about it.”

A member of the legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, Floren spoke of the state’s looming budget deficit, estimated at $890 million or more for next fiscal year.

“It’s been said that it’s darkest before pitch black and I have to tell you in these dire economic times, it’s beyond pitch,” Floren said. “However, one glimmer of hope was the bipartisan bond bill that passed unanimously in the house and had only two dissenting votes in the senate.”

Floren said the committee was able to take money out of dormant accounts, eliminate earmarks and postpone spending on projects not shovel ready to cut more than $1 billion from bonding proposals a savings of $1 billion from on-going debt.

“Although it was difficult, we remained optimistic and fiscally responsible while still providing a mechanism for advancing proven projects in a timely, cost effective way,” Floren said.

Frantz, ranking member in the Senate’s Commerce Committee, helped get what is known as the “entrepreneur’s working permit” passed and signed by Gov. Dannel Malloy. The program, which allows people starting new companies in Connecticut to have registration fees paid for by the state, was stopped last year by the state’s Office of Fiscal Analysis but Frantz brought it back and pushed it through with broad bi-partisan support.

“This can be a big boost,” Frantz said. “A lot of companies start with $20,000 in the garage. If they can save $6,000 for two years in a row, that’s a huge boom for them.”

Camillo, who is ranking member of the house’s Commerce Committee, said, “It was one of the best bills we did this year.”

A member of the Banks Committee, Camillo reported on work to combat fraud. That committee amended the law to require banks to report an altered signature on a bank document within a year of being informed of it. The original wording made the report optional.

“This is something we needed to make stronger,” Camillo said. “We’ll see if that works, but this has become a problem in the state.”

“We would have, for an example, Sacred Heart University partnering with Norwalk Community College and creating feeder programs into the schools so these kids have an opportunity to finish their four-year degrees and really go and take the courses that will get them into these other institutions and find jobs in the workplace,” Bocchino said.

Bocchino, who also serves on the Energy and Technology Committee, spoke about the growing issue of private drones, many of which are equipped with cameras and could impinge on privacy.

“We are trying to look at not only the negatives but the many positives drones have for our municipality and the state,” Bocchino said. “Drones are key when you have agricultural areas with lost livestock. They can be used for forest fires and can extinguish them a lot quicker. They are also used to help find loved ones who have dementia or Alzheimers. There is a lot of great potential for drones and we’re trying to peel away all the layers of the onion.”